


Movie Night

by xslytherclawx



Series: Chanukah 5781 [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Jewish Character, Friends With Benefits, Friends With Benefits To Lovers, Hanukkah, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Harry Potter Rare Pair Bingo: Round 2, Jewish Anthony Goldstein, M/M, Post-Canon, Professor Draco Malfoy, Professor Neville Longbottom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28012635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xslytherclawx/pseuds/xslytherclawx
Summary: Of all people to be scandalised that Neville's never seen a Muggle film, it's Draco – who, in turn, demands Anthony rectify the situation.
Relationships: Anthony Goldstein/Neville Longbottom
Series: Chanukah 5781 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2051532
Kudos: 11
Collections: All Your Faves Are Jewish, Harry Potter Rare Pair Bingo: Round Two!, ravenclaw au (xslytherclawx & thestias's harry potter multiverse), xslytherclawx & thestias's harry potter multiverse, xslytherclawx's Prompt Collection, xslytherclawx's jewish fic, xslytherclawx’s events collection





	Movie Night

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Just Friends](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27129421) by [xslytherclawx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xslytherclawx/pseuds/xslytherclawx). 



“What do you mean you’ve not seen a single Muggle film in your life?”

Surprisingly, it’s not Anthony or any of his coworkers with Muggleborn family asking him that question.

It’s Draco Malfoy.

“My gran’s not a purist, but that doesn’t mean I grew up knowing everything about Muggles.”

“But your friends – you’re friends with Hermione Granger!”

Neville shrugs. “To be honest with you, I’m not sure what the last film Hermione’s seen is. Harry’s far more likely to go to the cinema than Hermione.”

Draco gives him a look as if to say he’s missing the point intentionally.

“I dunno why you’re so surprised. I know what films  _ are; _ that’s a lot better than most Purebloods.”

It’s a lot better than Draco was himself two years ago. But Neville’s not going to say that.

“Anthony!” Draco calls, drawing Anthony’s attention away from his conversation with Filius.

“Yeah?”

“Neville’s never seen a Muggle film!”

“Never?” Anthony asks.

“I’m not sure why it’s so surprising. You’ve both met my gran.”

“Sure, but you’ve never seen one with Harry? Or even Hannah?”

Neville shakes his head. “Never.”

“Well, we’ve got to fix that, haven’t we? I’ll be staying with my parents over the holidays; you should stop by.”

Anthony’s parents’ house does not seem like an excuse to shag – not that either of them need an excuse – so Neville agrees. They’re just friends.

Friends who shag sometimes, but still. Friends.

Nothing more.

* * *

All right, Neville admittedly reevaluates a bit when he realises that Anthony’s invited him over during Chanukah.

“It’s really not a big deal,” he says to Neville, but of course he’d  _ say _ that.

To be fair, it seems to be just his parents home, so at least he’s avoided some big family thing. Which he knows Anthony’s family does do for Chanukah. Well, with the family that still lives in the U.K., anyway, which is more than just his parents.

Anthony introduces him as a coworker and says, “We were in the D.A. together – well, Nev really led it our seventh year.”

“With Ginny and Luna,” Neville says.

“Yeah until they didn’t come back from hols,” Anthony says, and that’s that.

It’s not that Neville doesn’t know he was important, but, well, it was more just being in the right time and place and doing the right thing. He’s sure anyone else would have done the same in his position.

Anthony’s parents don’t dwell on that; they do insist that he address them by first name, and, after verifying that he does, in fact, celebrate Christmas, ask him about his Christmas plans (which are the same as they are every year: gifts with Gran and then visiting his parents – though he doesn’t tell Anthony’s parents that his parents live in a closed ward at St. Mungos).

They’ve already lit the menorah by the time Neville arrives, so at least Neville doesn’t feel like he’s intruding on that. Anthony’s parents do offer him food (fried potato pancakes with sour cream, which Neville accepts), and make small talk.

When Anthony says that Neville’s never seen a Muggle film before, Anthony’s mother smiles.

“I hadn’t, either, you know. I came from an old Pureblood family, and I didn’t fully understand what I was getting myself into when I got engaged to a man with three Muggle grandparents.”

“Which family?” Neville asks. Contrary to what he’s heard some of his students gossip, there’s no real  _ look _ for any given Pureblood family; they’re all interrelated, and the fact that all the Weasley siblings have red hair is a fluke more than it is a sign. He supposes, much like what he’s heard of Muggle nobility (he’s not totally ignorant) that there might be physical traits to mark a Pureblood as a Pureblood (what often get referred to as “refined characteristics”), but that doesn’t vary so much by family.

“Oh, the Fawleys,” Mrs. Goldstein says, and Neville nods. They’re not closely related (he’s more closely related to Ginny and Draco, really – though on separate sides of his family), and he tries to tell himself that that’s not a comforting thought.

“Are you two related?” Anthony asks. “I mean, beyond – the fact that all Purebloods are interrelated.”

“Not really, no. My mum’s a Prewett and my gran’s, well, not a Fawley, anyway.” He doesn’t like advertising just how closely related he  _ is _ to Draco, especially not considering how proud Anthony’s parents clearly are of his involvement in the D.A. 

Not that his Gran wasn’t a decades-long supporter of Dumbledore, or that she doesn’t press him about inviting Harry around for dinner every chance she gets, but, well, it’s easier to not have to explain it.

Anthony’s father seems to light up. “There was a Prewett in my year – are you closely related to Elizabeth?”

Oh. Right. That. “She’s my aunt, yeah,” Neville says. Truthfully, he doesn’t see his Prewett family much, but he’s aware of that much. She always stopped by for Christmas and gave him a little gift. Sometimes he sees her at St. Mungos. “Though I think she prefers Bitsy to Elizabeth. At least that’s what she has me call her.”

“We weren’t close, admittedly. She was a bit more interested in Quidditch and practical magic than theory.”

“She did play professionally, though,” Neville says. She’s been retired for years, obviously, but he remembers seeing her in the trading cards his Gran tried so hard to interest him in. He gave them all to Draco when they were ten.

“I think I’d heard that. My brother was always the Quidditch fan, but he and his husband moved to America in ninety-four.”

His husband? Neville can’t help but latch onto that. Wizarding society is still quite heteronormative, and Anthony and his family have always seemed… well, normal. (If, upon getting to know Anthony, Neville’s had to admit that he’s a bit odd, then that really just explains why they get on.)

“Dad’s also got a Muggle cousin who’s a lesbian. And my cousins are – well, Jonathan’s gay, and Naomi’s bi, too. And my Aunt Miri and Uncle Iain are both bi, but well – you know, they’ve married each other, so it’s less obvious in conversation. And, of course, there’s me.”

It isn’t that Neville didn’t think that Anthony was out to his parents (he’s had boyfriends before, and he’s mentioned at least one of them meeting his parents), but Neville didn’t expect this.

If he’s honest, he’s still not come out to his gran. Not that he thinks she doesn’t suspect, or that he thinks she’ll really  _ care, _ but that doesn’t make it less terrifying.

“That’s… is that most of your family?”

“Most of them, yeah. Though I guess when your uncle marries a man, then his husband’s not going to be straight by default.”

“It’d be a  _ bit _ strange for a straight man to marry another man.”

Anthony grins. “Just a bit.”

* * *

The menorah is still burning in the window by the time Anthony sits him down with a stack of small plastic cases. “So. We obviously can’t watch all of them, but this is some of the Muggle film canon. Plus a few of my favourites.”

“All right.”

“Star Wars is great, but it’s best to watch all of them at once, and that’s probably not the  _ best _ for introducing a Pureblood to Muggle films.”

“Do you think Draco really watches these?”

Anthony shrugs. “Justin says he does, but Justin’s also got a private screening room in his house.”

“A – what?”

Anthony puts several of the plastic cases to the side. “All right, so we’re watching this in the sitting room, on a normal sofa and with a normal television and DVD player hooked up with normal cables. Justin’s got a whole room – probably twice the size of this one – and it’s got a screen that takes up an entire wall, speakers set into the wall, giant reclining chairs, and the films play from a projection room – so basically, there’s a device in the next room that projects the films onto the screen through a window.”

“That seems… excessive.”

“Oh, it is. But also we usually get together once a year for the lot of us to watch all the Star Wars films in order, and it’s much better that way. But for this? I think this way’s less intimidating. Though if you like it, we should probably go to the cinema.”

“All right,” Neville agrees. Anthony’s the expert, after all.

Anthony flips through a few more of the plastic cases. “D’you want something funny, romantic, sad, scary…?”

“I’m not particular,” Neville says. “But – well, you probably already know what I can’t stomach.”

“I think I’m much the same, really,” Anthony says. “What about this one?” He holds up one of the cases. “It’s about two blokes who go to weddings trying to pick up girls.”

Is that really what makes a film? “All right,” Neville agrees.

“I promise, it’s actually funny.”

“I trust you.”

Anthony flashes him a smile before doing – well, whatever it is he needs to go to get the movie to play. He settles in next to him on the sofa and together they watch the film.

True to Anthony’s word, the film is funny, and though it’s a bit late, Neville agrees to another one – this time a romantic comedy about a girl who tries to get a man to break up with her for a magazine article.

By the time the second movie ends, Neville realises that Anthony is curled up into his side.

Which is – well, it’s different.

“Are you up for another one?”

Neville considers going back to his cold, empty apartments at Hogwarts. He’d much rather stay here. “Sure,” he says.

Anthony gets up, and Neville is suddenly aware of how chilly the room has gotten. “We’re not going to start Star Wars just yet, but how about Indiana Jones?”

“What’s that about?”

“An archeology professor who goes on adventures, basically.”

Neville can’t think of anything objectionable in that. “All right.”

So Anthony puts the film on, and – this is the strange part – he comes right back to curl up next to Neville again. On purpose. A few minutes into the movie, Neville wraps an arm around him, and Anthony moves in closer.

It’s nice.

It’s a bit beyond nice, if Neville’s honest. He’s spent the past – well, it’s been nearly a year of this – intentionally avoiding thinking about this sort of intimacy with Anthony. And it’s been fine when it was just sex.

But this is more than just sex.

Neville can’t focus on the film.

All he can think about is how  _ close _ Anthony is and how much he likes it. He thinks back to Anthony’s birthday and how they agreed that they’d discuss it if they ever caught feelings.

He’s been so careful.

The worst part isn’t even that he doesn’t have any idea whether Anthony feels the same.

The worst part is that something like this could ruin their friendship.

* * *

The next thing Neville is aware of is sunlight streaming through the window and the smell of breakfast in the air. Anthony is still curled up next to him, but there’s a throw blanket over the both of them that wasn’t there the night before.

Shit.

He doesn’t want to move; he’s pretty sure Anthony’s still asleep.

But as it turns out, he doesn’t have to wake him; Anthony’s mother bustles into the sitting room. “Oh, good, you’re up! I was just coming to wake you.”

He feels Anthony start to stir.

“Sorry,” Neville says, “I didn’t mean to spend the night.”

“Oh, it’s not a problem, love,” Mrs. Goldstein says. “Breakfast is ready in the kitchen.”

Anthony shifts. “Thanks, Mum.”

“I’ll leave you two a moment to wake up,” Mrs. Goldstein says. She goes back to the kitchen without another word.

Anthony sits up and runs a hand through his hair. “I can’t believe we fell asleep.”

“Neither can I,” Neville says. Part of him wants to address it, but not with Anthony’s mother just in the next room. So he stands up and stretches. 

“Mum usually does dairy breakfasts,” Anthony says.

That throws Neville for a loop. “Sorry?”

“To be kosher, you can’t mix meat and dairy, and Mum likes milk in her tea, so she usually makes dairy breakfasts. No meat.”

“Oh,” Neville says. “That’s fine; I’m really not a picky eater.”

Anthony puts on a very serious face. “Just promise me something.”

“What’s that?” He’s afraid that he’s about to be told breakfast will be inedible, but no.

“Don’t fall in love with my mum over her cooking.”

Neville can’t help but laugh. “I don’t think that’s a problem. She’s the same age as my aunt, isn’t she? Hermione’s probably the oldest person I’ve ever been interested in.”

“Ah,” Anthony says. “You, too? I feel like only a certain type of bloke was ever mad for Hermione.”

“Are you comparing me to Ron?”

“Technically, I’m comparing us both to Ron.”

Neville rolls his eyes. “I’m really not sure that holds up.”

“You’ve got more in common with Ron than I have, but whatever you say.”

They continue this debate as they go into the kitchen. Mrs. Goldstein has laid out an impressive breakfast spread – though, true to Anthony’s word, without any meat. She tells them to help themselves, so Neville does.

She waits until they’ve started eating to say, “So, Anthony, bubbeleh, you never told me that Neville was your boyfriend.”

Anthony nearly chokes on his eggs. “Mum.”

He hasn’t denied it. Neville can’t quite believe his ears.

“You’re almost thirty years old. You’re welcome to your privacy, but you certainly haven’t got to pretend that you’re just friends.”

Anthony shoots Neville a pained look and then says to his mum, “We’ve not really discussed it, Mum.”

Except they have. Unless… does  _ Anthony _ want to reevaluate, too?

“All right. Sorry, Tony, love. You know I’d never want to pressure you.”

“I know,” Anthony says. “It’s all right.”

And then the conversation moves on to Neville’s introduction to Muggle film, and Mr. Goldstein comes down in time to make a comment about how his brother had a poster of Harrison Ford in their room growing up, “and he really thought I’d be surprised when he came out to me.”

It’s all very normal and warm and  _ nice, _ and in the back of his mind, Neville wonders whether his parents would even react to him being in a relationship. If he were in a relationship, anyway. He’d never tried; both Luna and Hannah had understood the state his parents were in and hadn’t want to cause undue stress.

But now… part of him wonders.

* * *

Anthony insists on going back with him, just for fresh air. They apparate together to Hogsmeade and begin the familiar walk back to Hogwarts.

“I’m sorry about my parents. They’re just a bit – I’m their only child, and we’re quite close, so they… tend to meddle, a bit.”

“I don’t mind,” Neville says truthfully.

“But?” Anthony says.

Of course there’s a but.

“But you told them we’d not discussed it. And, erm, we have.”

It’s cold enough out that Neville can’t tell whether the flush in Anthony’s cheeks is due to the weather or something else. “I… thought we might revisit it?”

Oh. Neville can’t quite work out an appropriate response, but when he blurts out, “I’m sure the House Elves have got my fireplace going,” Anthony smiles and reaches for his hand.

**Author's Note:**

> come visit me on [tumblr](https://xslytherclawx.tumblr.com/), and feel free to join my Harry Potter [discord server](https://discord.gg/yb6bS3c)!


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